Contact with pornography occurs earlier and earlier. In Spain, for example, 20% of adolescents accessed this type of content before the age of 10 and more than 90% before the age of 14. In France, a Senate information report published in September 2022 corroborates these trends by counting 1.1 million adolescents aged 15 to 18 and 1.2 million children under 15 out of the 19 million unique monthly visitors to pornographic sites.
These figures reveal a childhood exposed too early to content that shapes their way of understanding desire, consent and emotional relationships. In a context where in-depth sexual education is practically non-existent both in families and at school, the internet has become the teacher and pornography its program.
A childhood exposed too early
The most recent research carried out in Spain places the start of pornography consumption between the ages of 8 and 13. The mobile phone is the main access device: it allows private, immediate consumption and is difficult to monitor by adults. This continuous access is devoid of family and educational filters which could serve as elements of protection.
What children see
Early exposure to explicit sexual content, in which attitudes of violence, domination and machismo are reproduced, and consumption as an integrated practice in the digital socialization of adolescents have the consequence that physical violence, coercion or humiliation of women, far from being recognized as aggression, are interpreted as normal, even desirable, sexual behavior. These are contents and attitudes that reinforce models of virility based on domination and belittlement.
The new digital pornography reinforces the objectification of women, presenting them as instruments of male pleasure.
Some researchers found that the most viewed videos included scenes of hair pulling, slapping or insults, and even gang rape (with more than 225 million views). Other research has confirmed that regular consumption of violent pornography is associated with attitudes of domination and sexual aggression: 100% of studies linked pornography to sexual violence, 80% to psychological violence, and 66.7% to physical violence.
Ultimately, during adolescence, this exposure shapes early emotional experiences and normalizes the idea that power, submission, and violence are part of desire.
Girls facing the mirror of violence
Adolescent girls also consult pornography, although to a lesser extent and in a context marked by aesthetic pressure, gender norms and the need for external validation, factors which influence the way in which they construct their desire and their relationship with their body. This consumption is often experienced with discomfort or emotional ambivalence and is rarely shared among peers.
The new digital pornography reinforces the objectification of women, presenting them as instruments of male pleasure. Platforms, such as OnlyFans, continue this logic, commercializing the female body under the guise of an apparent freedom that responds to male demand.
Thus, young girls learn that social recognition depends on their ability to expose themselves, which generates socialization based on autosexualization and erotic capital. This learning perpetuates the injunctions to submission and consolidates a model of desire based on inequality. As a result, pornography shapes not only how young men learn to desire, but also how adolescent girls learn to be desired.
An education that comes too late
Lack of adequate sex education is one of the biggest contributors to early pornography consumption. In the educational field, there is still a lack of programs that address emotional and sexual relationships seriously, naturally and in an approach based on rights and values, which favors the internalization of pornographic content.
In addition, schools in Spain, but also in other countries, lack resources for comprehensive sex education and, in families, silence and taboo often prevail. Faced with this lack of reference points, pornography becomes the main source of information, canceling essential dimensions of sexuality such as affection, equality and respect.
This is why socio-emotional education with a gender approach has proven essential to prevent the effects of consumption and promote egalitarian relationships. Integrating reflection on consent, pleasure and diversity makes it possible to counterbalance the messages of domination conveyed by screens and to empower adolescents based on mutual respect.
From a private question to a collective challenge for public health
Pornography consumption during adolescence is an emerging public health problem. Its effects transcend the individual and affect emotional well-being, socialization and the construction of gender identities, requiring a preventive and comprehensive approach from the health system. Furthermore, there is evidence that early exposure to explicit sexual content influences risky behaviors, behavioral addictions and the reproduction of gender inequalities.
Social work actors play a key role by positioning themselves between the health system, society and families. From this position, social workers can detect the psychosocial consequences of pornography consumption (anxiety, isolation or sexist attitudes) and intervene through educational and support actions.
Likewise, the health social worker contributes to the design of intersectoral strategies that integrate emotional and sexual education into primary care and promote healthy relationships from an early age. Ultimately, supporting new generations towards a sexuality based on empathy, consent and equality is its greatest responsibility.
The consumption of pornography is no longer a private issue, but a collective challenge. This is not a moral issue, but a health and equality issue. If pornography teaches to desire with violence, our task is to teach to desire with empathy. In this sense, educating about equality, affection and consent is not an option: it is a social emergency.
